Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Reviews
If you're not a fan of Warriors games, but are curious, give it a go. The game is crazy fun and the amount of content will make your head spin. But if you don't like Warriors games at all, this one is still a DW game – if you don't like the series, you won't like this.
While perhaps not deserving of the "Definitive Edition" moniker, the long overdue Steam edition of Warriors Orochi 3 has got everything a franchise fan needs. Characters, missions, modes, weapons, levels, costumes, crossovers, meaty story - it's all here, minus online play and a few pieces of minor DLC. Ignore its aged looks and this is some of the best hacking and slashing in the franchise, the likes of which only the licensed Legend of Zelda entries come close to.
Gauntlet mode is a fantastic contrast to the main Story mode of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition, plus a great means of “grinding” characters without feeling like you’re just replaying the same things over and over again. You can jump into it right from your first moments with Warriors Orochi 3, so long as you’re careful — but the mode is solid and substantial enough to also make for excellent endgame content, potentially keeping you busy into perpetuity.
I guess the big question here is whether Warriors Orochi 3’s appeal lies purely in nostalgia or if there’s something in there for people who have come to the franchise more recently. I think this is probably the best way to put it: if you’re a more recent starter to the Warriors formula, you’ll probably find Warriors Orochi 3 a little archaic, unrefined and mechanically simplistic. However, if you’re in any way curious about what the Warriors games used to be like, then this is the one to play. It’s an all-time classic within a series that has had something like 100 iterations over the years, and it’s good that the Ultimate Definitive Edition exist on PC, because Koei Tecmo’s effort on this one deserves to be accessible and remembered.
In fact, you may well find that you sometimes reach points in Story mode where spending some time in the other modes of Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate Definitive Edition is very much to your benefit in terms of raising bonds between characters, earning Growth Points and Gems, or simply taking on some different types of challenges.
There is enough game here to keep you busy for literally years — and over the course of this deep-dive you’ll see just how many different ways there are to enjoy it. Including through playing as characters from Dead or Alive, Ninja Gaiden, Bladestorm, Warriors: Legends of Troy, Soulcalibur and Trinity: Souls of Zill O’ll.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is a tough game to score, make no mistake. Fans of the series will chastise us for rating it so low, and that's probably fair. If you're a fan, you'll enjoy it due to the sheer amount of characters on hand from all of the Warriors universes, and that over-the-top hack and slash gameplay that you already like. If you're not already deeply involved with any of the franchises though, you're going to find a game that is inescapably fun at times and that shows an awful lot of promise, but which is ultimately let down by some poor design decisions and some somewhat dodgy AI.
With on-the-fly character switching and chaining moves together to enable free-flowing and fast-paced action, WO3U does a good job of trying to stave off the repetition complaint that follows the series everywhere it goes…but it only lasts for so long before the feeling kicks in. It won't be for everyone, and this port doesn't do much to show it's running on PS4 by any stretch of the imagination, but with how much has been packed into this game, series fans will care very little about such quibbles.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is pretty much the best Dynasty Warriors game on the market. It has flaws and weaknesses, but it makes up for it in polish and amount of content. With over 100 distinct and interesting characters, multiple game modes, and a surprisingly fun story mode, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate has enough to keep players busy for ages. It's not going to win over anyone who's sick of the Warriors formula, but it should be more than enough to keep fans happy. The biggest flaw it has is that it doesn't take advantage of the PlayStation 4's increased power, although it still is a step up from the other versions of the game. If you're a Dynasty Warriors fan or looking to get in the franchise, Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate is the best choice.
The big question is whether people who have played the game before will get anything out of the upgrade. I do believe there's enough content in there to justify the purchase, and if you're a fan of Warriors games, and somehow missed either of the game's previous releases, you can consider Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate essential. It really is Koei Tecmo's Smash Bros.
Warriors Orochi 3: Ultimate Definitive Edition is a strong remastering effort of what is one of the Musou franchise’s best entries. I was overwhelmed by the addictive and plentiful amounts of content on offer, as well as some frantic and varied gameplay. The few cracks that display the game’s age are small potatoes when stacked up to how much of a blast it all is. If you want a quintessential Musou game that is practically never-ending, you’ve come to the right place.
If you are a fan of musou games then you probably already have this one on the myriad of consoles it had been ported over the years. However if this is your first time, or you’re looking for some titles for your brand new Steam Deck (where it ended up fitting surprisingly well, glitches aside), then Warriors Orochi 3 provides a solid entry point for the genre. It provides players with dozens upon dozens of hours of content to dig into the button mashing genre of musou.
Warriors Orochi 3 Ultimate adds to an already massive roster and doubles down on what makes the series so special. It does, however, suffer some framerate issues on splitscreen, but it's a worthwhile addition to any Musuo fan's colelction